POCATELLO, Idaho - Northwest Nazarene couldn't overcome a slow start at Division I Idaho State on Friday, falling to the Bengals by a final score of 91-50.

ISU opened the game on a 15-0 run and didn't look back, leading by 15 after the first quarter and then 24 at the break. The Nighthawks kept it closer in the third quarter, but the Bengals pulled away again in the fourth to improve to 14-1 on the season. NNU played the game as an exhibition, so it does not count towards their overall season record.

"Obviously the score didn't turn out the way we would've liked, but I definitely saw some areas of improvement," said NNU head coach Steve Steele. "We really played at our pace at times. We were successful when we did that and when we got the ball inside. We also shot free throws well tonight which has been a struggle this year."

"I'm also proud of the level of effort and energy my team displayed despite the score line. Lastly, we turned them over 23 times which shows that we can play our style of defense even against more athletic teams."

Nyalam Thabach led the Nighthawks with 10 points and five rebounds. Clare Eubanks added nine points, while Teagan Thurman came off the bench to tally eight points. 

While NNU was able to turn ISU over 23 times, the Nighthawks committed 28 turnovers on the other end. 

"I wish we could've played more exhibition games against this type of opponent in October and November and learned these lessons back then," said Steele. "Unfortunately, we are still trying to iron out some kinks that are normally handled in the fall."

After knocking off College of Idaho at home 76-51 two days ago, next up for the Nighthawks is a rematch with the Yotes next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Caldwell.